Did you ever wonder what kind of speech Bush would like to  give to us little old peons? I think I was too kind to him but this is probably a polite version of what he says in private!

Enter G. W. Bush.)

Good Evening

Ms....er...uh...Madame Speaker -- Hi Sweetie, Hasn't it been a fabulous year? Vice Dick... Yo Dead Eye, thanks for keeping that squirmy little Dennis Kucinich and his impeachment resolution out of my face.

(Waves and points to where members of the Supreme Court are sitting)

A special thanks to the fabulous Supreme 5 for putting me in this office. It's been fun guys! Good evening to you.

The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. I have try mixing my own rants and ideas, with national issues, news items, and some very local groups and events in an attempt to both help shape debate and to help people find their own ways of getting involved.

This week I highlight the Drum Major Institute's response to the State of the Union and a short video showing "The Real McCain" (a must see for any Dr. Strangelove fans out there). I also discuss the importance of Primary elections, including Mark Pera's, Steve Harrison's and Dennis Kucinich's, for the strength of the progressive movement. And I continue to highlight local events in all the states where I have had a good number of readers. I highlight Darwin Day events in many of these sates as Darwin's Birthday approaches. Interestingly, Florida and Texas are joining New York and California as states where I have lots of readers. Don't forget to visit an advertiser or two and if you want more, please visit Culture Kitchen.

by Cody Lyon
Just a few days before the State of the Union, The Center for Public Integrity released a report that documented President Bush and seven top officials of his administration, made at least 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

by CODY LYON

The President spent a large chunk of time pleading with the American people that the surge of American troops is working, that things are getting better and that history will show we'd done the right thing by invading the country and ridding it of Saddam Hussein...

But, some might say, the President was speaking to a nation that has turned a deaf ear to men who cry wolf. Unfortunately, they might also see a nation that's turned a deaf ear to news from Iraq.

That's due in great part to the media frenzy surrounding campaign primaries, certainly more fun news than stories from Baghdad, instead we hear about who crossed the line in a political attack, what groups will support who, who's got the most money, and who struck a low blow on the trail today? All of that and so much more make for great tabloid headlines that are filled with all kinds of juicy human drama.

President Bush released his 2007 budget with less fanfare than usual, and in an unprecedented move, with less forward-looking detail than ever. The beast-starving cut-tax and budget slashers must be partying in the streets.

Knowing that most Democrats and many Republicans would lambaste the cuts to domestic spending, especially in an election year, President Bush certainly wouldn't have wanted them to know how much more draconian his plans were for 2008 and beyond. That's why the president didn't release the details of his plans for the next five years, perhaps hoping to keep that information under wraps until after the mid-term elections.

We didn't mean Saddam had WMD literally.

We didn't mean the NSA spying was legal literally.

We didn't mean we didn't out a CIA agent literally.

Administration backs off Bush's vow to reduce Mideast oil imports
By Kevin G. Hall
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally.

What the president meant, they said in a conference call with reporters, was that alternative fuels could displace an amount of oil imports equivalent to most of what America is expected to import from the Middle East in 2025.

But America still would import oil from the Middle East, because that's where the greatest oil supplies are.

Good Lord. Is this the new dodge for ... you know? Lying? That this silly country keeps thinking we should take the president at his word literally? This is really reaching stratospheric heights of bullshitdom.

There are three kinds of State of the Union address.  

First come the kind of stirring speeches made by Franklin Roosevelt, by John Kennedy, and even by Lyndon Johnson -- the speeches that call us to great purpose.  These speeches take a chance, they go out on a political limb to offer America a change in direction.  They force both the president giving the speech and the public listening to stretch.

Next come the laundry list speeches.  These can often contain significant programs, but they lack any clear sense of direction, and often end up containing so many scattered ideas that it's hard to tell what the president really values.  Bill Clinton, take a bow.

Then come the speeches that tell us absolutely nothing.  No significant information.   No new ideas.  No guts.  No... anything.  That's what we got last night.